5 Quick Standing Ab Moves to Trim Your Waist in 30 Days After 40 (No Crunches)

Real talk: The waistline can be an incredibly stubborn and tricky area of the body to shape up. But rest assured, with the right workout routine on deck, you’ll be well on your way to trimming your waist in 30 days. The key is consistency. We’ve rounded up five quick standing ab exercises to do after 40—no crunches required.

When you enter your 40s, exercises like floor crunches can place undue stress on your lower back and neck, areas that already hold tightness.

“As we get older, it is important to minimize unnecessary stress on our joints, and standing ab moves are safer because they keep our spine neutral. They’re also effective at improving balance, posture, and functional strength for real-life movements, helping to strengthen the core the way we actually use it daily,” says Coach Amanda Grimm, certified running coach and PT at We Run and sports and remedial massage therapist. “The focus should be on the deep core muscles, along with the obliques, glutes, and back. These stabilizers act like a natural corset, if you like, pulling everything in tight, supporting the spine, and creating the real waist definition that surface ‘six-pack‘ muscles alone cannot achieve.”

Standing core exercises fire up your abs while also activating your legs, shoulders, and back to help maintain balance. Floor-based training mainly engages the abdominal muscles since your back is supported by the ground.

5 Quick Standing Ab Moves to Trim Your Waist

“Perform this workout four to five times a week, ensuring you take a 30 to 60 seconds of rest between sets,” Grimm instructs. “Aim for quality over quantity—by performing controlled movements, rather than speed or number, your core should feel fully engaged by rep 10.”

Standing High Knee With Twist

1. Stand tall, feet hip-width apart.
2. Lift your left knee up toward your waist, bringing your right elbow to meet it.
3. Engage your core muscles as you twist.
4. Return to standing.
5. Repeat on the other side.
6. Perform 3 sets of 15 reps per side.

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Standing Crunches

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1. Stand tall and brace your abs.
2. Round your torso forward as if you’re performing a crunch, bringing your chest toward your thighs.
3. Return to the start position.
4. Complete 3 sets of 20 reps.

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Standing Torso Twists

1. Stand tall, feet hip-width apart.
2. Cross your arms in front of your chest. Alternatively, hold a medicine ball with arms extended ahead of you.
3. Rotate from your core as you twist from side to side, keeping your hips square and feet planted on the ground.
4. Perform 3 sets of 20 reps.

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Diagonal Chops

1. Stand tall, feet shoulder-distance apart, arms high on one side.
2. Breathe in, chopping your arms down diagonally toward your opposite foot and bending your knees.
3. Reverse the motion.
4. Start by using your body weight as resistance on weeks 1 and 2, then include a dumbbell on weeks 3 and 4.
5. Complete 3 sets of 15 reps per side.

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Overhead Reach Knee Tucks

1. Stand tall, feet hip-width apart.
2. Reach one arm overhead while driving the opposite knee up to meet the elbow.
3. Complete 3 sets of 12 reps per side.

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